Solomon Islands timber industry reaches agreement with New Zealand market
Last week the Solomon Islands sawn timber industry hosted a delegation of the New Zealand timber industry. Solomon
Islands currently exports around SBD 23 million (NZ$4 million) of sawn timber to New Zealand each year with the value of
the trade having increased significantly over the past 10 years.
The New Zealand delegation comprised some of the main buyers of Solomon Islands sawn timber. All are members of the New
Zealand Imported Tropical Timber Group (NZ ITTG), which includes timber importers, retailers and conservation
organisations such as Greenpeace (also on the trip). New Zealand ITTG members work with producers to actively seek and
develop sources of sustainably managed tropical timber.
As in many parts of the world, New Zealand consumers want assurances that the timber products they buy have been sourced
from legally and sustainably managed forests. Australia and New Zealand, which are the two main markets for sawn timber
from Solomon Islands, both require some form of legality assurance for market entry.
Systems to ensure the legality of timber sourced from Solomon Islands were the main topic of conversation during the
visit. The Solomon Islands industry and NZ ITTG have agreed to collaborate on a number of initiatives to develop a
system of third party legality assurance over the next two years. This will involve the establishment of an independent
organisation that will audit sawn timber production to ensure that the source and legal production of timber can be
demonstrated. This is seen as an important first step towards sustainable forest management.
In opening the meeting of the industry groups, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Forestry and Research, Vaeno
Vigulu, commented that “The sawn timber industry generates around SBD80 million in exports annually, and provides employment to more than 2,000
people working in sawmills and timber yards. The Solomon Islands government is committed to taking measures to ensure
that Solomon Islands’ access to the Australian and New Zealand markets continues.”
Malcolm Scott, Chair of the NZ ITTG said, “New Zealand has imported Solomon Islands timber for many years and we have a very good relationship. However the market
internationally is changing, and we need all our suppliers including Solomon Islands to meet international requirements
on legal origin and sustainability. We are committed to working with our partners to that goal and we will need to see solid progress to ensure Solomon
Islands timber can continue to be imported into New Zealand.”
A representative of the Solomon Islands timber industry said, “Much of the sawn timber going to New Zealand is from community managed forests. Many people only cut down 1 or 2 trees
every now and then to pay for school fees. That said, we all need to recognise changing consumer demands and the need to
demonstrate compliance with market requirements for legality and sustainability.
The industry visit was facilitated by the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) Program. The
PHAMA Program is an Australian aid project, funded by the Australian and New Zealand Governments. It works across five
countries in the Pacific, with PNG to join the Program in 2015/16. In Solomon Islands PHAMA is working with the private
sector and government on helping improve the cocoa, fish, horticulture, coconut and timber industries. This initiative
is part of a wider program of support that PHAMA is providing to strengthen the sawn timber industry in Solomon Islands.
ENDS